Thursday, December 2

Philippians 1:3-11
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

Advent is a season of waiting and preparation. Today, we associate this season with the coming of Jesus as a baby, remembering and celebrating His birth with joyful celebrations, bright lights and decorations, good food, and time spent with loved ones. While writing his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul was also in a time of waiting and preparation for Jesus, not with friends or family (he was in prison in Rome), and not celebrating the arrival of the Christ Child, but eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return on “the day of Jesus Christ.” Paul’s circumstances to us may not have been cause for joyful celebrations, but his heartfelt eagerness and happiness is clear in his words to the church in Philippi. They too must have felt the joy and anticipation of Jesus’ coming again.
How did Paul and the Philippians prepare for Jesus? How did they celebrate His coming? Through earnest and constant prayer, through the sharing of the gospel, and through learning to love as Jesus Himself loves did the Philippians spend their season of advent.
What sort of preparations can we ready? What good works can we do each and every day? No matter where we are, or what circumstances we may be facing, we can rest assured that “He who began a good work” in us will continue to guide, strengthen, and love us as we travel through this season of waiting and beyond.
-Lauren Fuelling